A Dragon's Honor (13 page)

“By
the gods,” she heard Aki say.

Raven
looked up in time to see Raul burst through the rocks and into the sky,
showering them with dirt and pieces of debris. He landed with a thud and as he
was shifting, Raven was running towards him. She threw herself in his arms and
he held her tight against him.

“I
thought you were gone. I thought you…” She couldn’t get the words out.

He
kissed her hard, through the grime, dirt and tears their lips clung and Raven was
lost in him.

“Hey
now,
Shaloh
,
I’m fine,” Raul murmured. “There is no
one that can keep me away from my love.”

“You
are the luckiest dragon I’ve ever met,”
Lleau
said.

“How
did you manage to get out of that?” Aki asked.

“My
shift is what caused the cave in,” Raul explained. “I saw some of them moving
towards the entrance and knew the three of you had arrived, but there were too
many still coming at me. My only recourse was to fight while I let the dragon
free of my human skin and kill the ones still inside.”

Raven
reared back and punched him before glaring at him. “That’s the stupidest idea
you’ve ever had! You could have died and then what? I would be… I love you, you
big dumb dragon.”

Raul
rubbed his jaw where she’d hit him and pulled her hard against him for a long
kiss. “Ah, Raven, I knew your anger would make for good foreplay. Be my mate. Let
me take you to Paladin and present you as my love.”

“Okay,
but I’m still mad at you,” Raven said, smiling. “I love you, dragon.”

“And
I you,
Shaloh
,
” Raul replied.

“What
of your father?” Hawke asked.

Raul
let go of Raven to turn to Hawke and went to his knee. “There was no one. It
was as you said: a trap. I disobeyed your order and I am ready to face my
judgment.”

“Raul,
you thought you were going after your father. I was wrong for throwing it all
at you and expecting you to just fall in line,” Hawke said. “Loyalty runs both
ways and your father was good to you. You never saw the violence; you saw the
man being a good father to you. You are a fine and honorable man, a proud dragon,
and I stand with you as a warrior of the court.”

“I’m
sorry I yelled at you guys. I was, um, kind of distraught,” Raven said apologetically.

Hawke
laughed. “I understand completely and hold no grudges. I’m happy that he has
you to watch his back.”

“Now
can we please go home?”
Daisye
said, looking around. “The
dismembered
Shen
are giving me the creeps. Plus,
we’re all just standing around talking while half of us are naked. It’s a tad
improper.”

That
caused a laugh between all of them and Raven felt as if she had become part of
something bigger that most humans realized.

“Well,
how about you ladies find your way back to the car? We’ll clean up and follow
from the sky.”

“Um,
how about we help and then I ride back with you, Raul?” Raven replied. “
Daisye
, I like you a lot, but I cannot say the same for
your driving.”

Hawke
laughed. “I told you, honey, a car is a dangerous weapon when you’re behind the
wheel.”

“Yeah,
yeah, I guess I will wait around,”
Daisye
grumbled
good-naturedly. “But, Hawke, you drive back with me.”

“I
drive,” Hawke said as they walked away.

Raven
wrapped her arms around Raul’s thick waist and rested her head against his
chest. He cupped her chin in his hand and lifted her head so he could see into
her eyes. Raven could happily drown in the depths of his emerald gaze.

“I
love you, Raven, my wild, intelligent love,” Raul said. “I have never said it
to another and I will never say it to anyone but you.”

“You’d
better not or I’ll deck you so hard you’ll think you were hit by a truck,”
Raven said, but she was grinning from ear to ear.

Raul
kissed her lovingly and promised, “I shall forever be yours. I swear it on my
honor and of the court I serve. Tomorrow I’ll take you to our king and present
you as my mate.”

“My
life has taken a new course. I’ll finish my thesis and from there I’m going to
devote my time to learning your culture and documenting it for the generations
to come,” Raven replied. “Because I love you and your home, your people, and
vow to keep your secret as my own. I have never felt so strongly about anything
in my life.”

“Spoken
like the true mate of a warrior,” Raul said. “I must shift to my dragon and
help the others.”

She
watched him walk a few steps away and change into his magnificent green and
gold dragon and take to the skies
. I’m
the mate of a dragon with honor,
she thought with a smile and moved towards
Daisye
to watch their dragons dominate the night sky.

The End

Coming in 2013

Book 5 of The Paladin Dragons

A Dragon’s Rage

Where
Lleau
tries to see past the anger and loss in his
life, and
Liis
could be the one who saves him.

Sugar and Spice Press

Where romance is everything nice.

www.SugarNSpicePress.com